“The requirement for state intervention rises as you move westwards across the country, with the western region having the most premises within the planned intervention area,” the Ibec report said.

“The digital economy plays an increasingly crucial role in the exchange of goods and services. Insufficient broadband connectivity leaves local businesses and householders at a significant disadvantage.”

It added: “Data intensive industries are increasingly mobile and have provided vital boosts in job creation around the country.

“Attracting these industries, that rely on reliable high quality connections, remains a challenge in some local authority areas.”

Broadband speeds

The areas with the worst connectivity also tend to have the slowest average broadband speeds.

While Longford came out the with the slowest average speed, Leitrim, Roscommon, and Mayo are all in the bottom five.

Ibec senior policy executive Aidan Sweeney said: “The findings in our report show that we must progress the National Planning Framework without delay to address the growing imbalance between Dublin and the rest of the country.”